


The Blooming Rouge

by orphan_account



Category: Dragon Age II, Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Genre: AU, M/M, Moulin Rouge AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 20:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4151190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shameless Moulin Rouge AU. (You don't have to have seen the movie to read this fic, just an fyi. But the movie is fantastic.)</p><p>Hawke is introduced to the illicit and provocative world of The Blooming Rouge- A den of sin owned by a woman named Isabela. It's there that Hawke meets Fenris, a beautiful dancer and deeply sought after courtesan, but he's not the only one who desires the elf. Along with his new friends and artistic partners, Hawke must stand with Fenris against the rich and powerful Magister Danarius in order to defend true love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Blooming Rouge

**Author's Note:**

> Ao3 gave me a really hard time about submitting this- My first summary was gold and then I lost it so forgive how...silly this one sounds.

The lights were dim in the Hanged Man as Varric entranced several patrons with one of his many stories. He was all wild hand movements and smug grin while his ale threatened to spill past the lip of his mug. "So we went into the Deep Roads, swords and bows ablaze and-"

"We've heard this story before Varric." The dry tone of one obnoxious drunk didn't appeal much to the dwarf, but Varric shrugged it off and sat back, indifferent.

"Well," he drawled. "How about-"

"We've heard  _all_  your stories." The patron gave Varric a challenging look, which only egged the man further on.

"I've got one you haven't heard before," the dwarf rectified. "It's a story about Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love." The patrons seemed to perk up some. Not so much at the descriptors, but more at the offer of a story they hadn't heard thirty times over. "There was a boy- A very strange enchanted boy. They say he wandered very far. Over land and sea. A little shy, and sad of eye, but very wise was he. And then one day- one magic day he passed my way. And while we spoke of many things- fools and kings- this he said to me: The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

* * *

_'The Blooming Rouge. A nightclub. A dancehall and a Bordello. Ruled over by Isabela. A Kingdom of nighttime pleasures, where the rich and powerful came to play with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld. The most beautiful of all these was the man I loved. Fenris- A courtesan. He sold his love to others...they called him the Little Wolf, and he was the star of The Blooming Rouge.'_

Hawke stopped writing. He set his quill down and ran one hand across his face, his heart tensing in his chest as he struggled to find the right words. A long and distant look out his apartment window forced strength into his body. With shaky hands he picked up his quill and pressed the tip against bleeding parchment.

_'The man I loved is...dead.'_

* * *

_'I first came to Kirkwall one year ago; It was 9:30 Dragon. I knew nothing of the Blooming Rouge, Isabela, or Fenris. The world had been swept up in the wake of the Blights and I fled from Fereleden to escape it. In Kirkwall was Hightown- It was not as my Uncle had described it, but the center of the Bohemian world. Yes, I had come to live a penniless existence. I had come to escape the Blight, but now that I was there I was going to write about Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and that which I believed above all things, Love.'_

Hawke could hear his uncle's words in his head: " _Always this ridiculous obsession with love!_ "

_'There was only one problem. I'd never been in love.'_

Inspiration had not hit him. The longer Hawke sat at his writing desk, lamenting the lack of love in his life, the more his confidence waned. He was trying to make his new penniless existence -mean- something. He wanted to instill in others the ideals he himself held dear.

_'Luckily, right at that moment a Brother of the Chantry fell through my roof. He was quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a Mother.'_

Hawke jumped, his quill sent flying behind him as the ceiling suddenly gave out and an unconscious man strung by his leg swung back and forth in front of him. The intruder was suddenly joined by an oddly dressed dwarf.

"How do you do," The Dwarf greeted, expertly swinging a cane as he approached Hawke without so much as an apology for bursting into his apartment. "My name is Varric Tethras. I'm very sorry about all this. We're just upstairs rehearsing a play."

Hawke blinked. "What?"

_'A play! Something very modern called Spectacular Spectacular.'_

Varric grinned. "And it's set in Orlais."

_'Unfortunately, the man hanging from the ceiling was knocked unconscious.'_

From the hole in the ceiling, three more people peeked into Hawke's home. "How is he?" a dark haired man asked. "Well now that Sebastian is quite unconscious, the scenario will  _not_  be ready to present to the financier tomorrow!"

The meek girl beside him looked nervously on at their unconscious counterpart. "Varric," she said, her pointed ears falling back. "I have yet to finish the music..."

Varric, who seemed to be the optimistic sort, smiled and crossed his arms. "Well Merrill, we'll just find someone else to read the part. We'll have it ready by tomorrow Carver."

Carver frowned, clearly frustrated. "Where in Andraste's name are we going to find someone to read the role of the young sensitive Orlesian poet Nug herder?"

_'Before I knew it I was upstairs standing in for the unconscious Chantry Brother.'_

Hawke quirked a brow at the ridiculous amount of effects made possible through magic. Merrill sat at a large piano, playing and casting at the same time although Hawke couldn't tell if the music's horrible sound was from a lack of talent or from the strain of multitasking. He stood on a ladder, a script gripped tightly in his hands. Varric stood below him, singing so badly Hawke didn't know how to react. "The hills animate with the euphonious symphonies of descant!" Varric threw his arms up and Hawke cringed. He had to wonder if the man was drunk, from his mannerisms to the unsteadiness of his feet.

Carver was beet red as he watched. "Oh stop stop!" He stormed over to Merrill, rubbing his temples. "Stop that insufferable droning it's drowning out my words. Can we please just stick to a little decorative piano?"

_'There seemed to be artistic differences over Carver's lyrics to Merrill's song.'_

"I don't think a Mother of the Chantry would say that about a hill," the third of the group murmured, squinting.

"Shove it Aveline!" Carver snapped.

"Perhaps," Merrill chimed in. "He can sing 'the hills are vital and toning with the descant."

"The hills quake and shake!"

"No no no no, the hills...the hills..."

Sebastian rose from where he'd been unceremoniously dropped to sleep. "The hills are incarnate with symphonic melodies!" The group watched him, then looked away as he promptly returned to his concerning slumber.

"I think he might have a concussion," Hawke said, but it was lost in the tumult of people arguing. The debate grew louder and louder and the look on Carver's face grew more surly with every passing moment. Hawke cleared his throat, trying to get a word in without speaking over the arguing friends. He waved his arms, hoping to get -someone's- attention, but nobody seemed to notice him. Finally, he cleared his throat and sang above them all, "The hills are alive with the sound of music!"

The group grew quiet and all jumped as Sebastian threw himself off the bed he'd been unconscious on and aggressively stumbled towards Hawke. "The hills are alive with the sound of music," he repeated, his tone abrasive. "I love it!" Merrill, Varric, and Aveline all repeated Hawke's profound verse but Carver seemed unimpressed.

Merrill grinned, "It fits perfectly."

Hawke felt giddy with encouragement and continued. "With songs they have sung, for a thousand years. The crowd gasped, most of them animated with joy for the breakthrough and their newly appointed artistic partner.

Carver tightened his lips and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing at Hawke.

Varric grinned at him. "Carver, you two should write the show together."

Carver looked appalled. "What did you just say?"

_'But Varric's suggestion that Carver and I write the show together was not what Carver wanted to hear.'_

"Goodbye!" Carver yelled, slamming the door as he left in a rage.

Hawke was surprised, but not displeased with the strange turn of both events and his evening.

Varric held up a mug of ale. "Here's to your first job in Kirkwall, Hawke."

"Varric...Isabela will never agree..." Merrill bit her lip and turned her attention to Hawke. "No offense but have you ever written anything like this before?"

Hawke rocked on the ladder, scratching the back of his head. "No, I haven't-"

"Ah!" Sebastian exclaimed, walking to Hawke. "The boy has talent! I like him" His arm shot out, intending to give Hawke a friendly pat though it landed leagues lower- A little too friendly. Hawke's eyes widened and he gaped, unsure of what to do with Sebastian's hand directly on his crotch. Sebastian quickly pulled his hand away, embarrassed. "Nothing funny," he promised. "I just like talent."

Sebastian received many odd looks, but the remainder of the group quickly reconvened. "' _The hills are alive with the sound of music_ '- with Hawke we can write the Bohemian Revolutionary show we always dreamt of."

Merrill frowned, hesitant. "But how will we convince Isabela?"

 _'But Varric had a plan. They would dress me in Sebastian's best uniform and pass me off as a famous Ferelden writer. Once Fenris had my modern poetry he would be astounded and insist to Isabela that_  I _write Spectacular Spectacular. The only problem was I kept hearing my Uncle's voice in my head: "_ You'll end up wasting your life at The Blooming Rouge with a courtesan".'

Hawke panicked and paced away from the whispering group. "No, no, I can't write a show for The Blooming Rouge."

"Why not?" Varric asked, closing in on Hawke who gazed at him with unsure eyes. "I'm not sure if I even am a true Bohemian Revolutionary."

Varric scoffed, looking at Merrill, Sebastian, and Aveline. "Do you believe in Beauty?"

"Well...yes."

"Freedom?" Sebastian asked.

"Of course."

"Truth?" Merrill whispered.

"Yes."

"Love?" Aveline pressed.

Hawke paused, staring at them. "...Love? Yes, love. Above all things I believe in love. Love is like oxygen; Love is a many splendid thing; Love lifts us up where we belong; All you need is love!"

The answer seemed to more than satisfy his new friends. Varric especially, who chugged his ale and wiped his mouth then offered a pleased grin. "See you can't fool us! You're the voice of the children of the revolution!"

"We can't be fooled," Aveline, Merrill, and Sebastian all chimed in.

Varric held up his mug. "To the writer of the world's first Bohemian Revolutionary show!" he toasted.

_'It was the perfect plan. I was to audition for Fenris and taste my first glass of...Lyrium.'_

Hawke knew that Lyrium was only meant for those with magical essence. To any other creature it was a powerful hallucinogenic. His uncle had always warned him against using such things, but he was no longer living under his uncle's authority. He drank the potion and immediately his pupils dilated. The effects were like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It was like being drunk, but better and at the same time more frightening. His hands left ghost trails, everything was hilarious. Every step he took felt like a tightrope walk, but he pressed on laughing and holding his arms out for balance.

'We were off to The Blooming Rouge, and I was to perform my poetry for Fenris.'

It felt like hours that he was walking with no direction, but when he came to out of the haze of Lyrium, he was standing outside of The Blooming Rouge. The place was large and imposing for something in the Red Lantern District- Clearly besting all other Bordellos and clubs alike. What made The Blooming Rouge stand out must have been its trinity of entertainment possibilities. From pretty young things to drinks to dancing, The Blooming Rouge had it all.

* * *

Varric smirked at Hawke, patting the small of his new friend's back. "Nervous there Hawke?"

Hawke's eyes were wide with wonderment and anxiety. "Yes," he admitted.

"Don't worry- it'll be great fun! And maybe you'll meet your Love here." Varric laughed and Hawke wasn't sure if he was trying to be mean, but at the same time he didn't care.

"Well," Varric continued. "Let's go Lover Boy."


End file.
